Poetry terms

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Alliteration

Repetition of the same starting consonant sound; Example: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.";

Allusion

A reference to a famous person

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of lines; Example: "I have a dream…";

Apostrophe

Speaking to an absent person

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words; Example: "The light of the fire is a sight.";

Ballad

A narrative poem meant to be sung or told; Example: "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.";

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter; Example: Shakespeare's plays.;

Chiasmus

Reversal of structure in parallel phrases; Example: "Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you.";

Connotation

Emotional or cultural meaning of a word; Example: "Home" implies comfort.;

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds; Example: "blank" and "think.";

Couplet

Two lines of poetry that go together; Example: "The cat sat down / and wore a crown.";

Denotation

Literal dictionary meaning of a word; Example: "Home" = a place to live.;

Diction

Word choice; Example: Formal vs informal language.;

Dramatic Poetry

Poetry written to be spoken by a character; Example: A dramatic monologue.;

Elegy

A poem mourning the dead; Example: "O Captain! My Captain!";

End Rhyme

Rhyming at the ends of lines; Example: "cat / hat.";

End-Stopped Line

A line that ends with punctuation; Example: "The sun sets in the west.";

Enjambment

A line that continues without punctuation to the next line; Example: "The sun sets in the / quiet sky.";

Epic

A long narrative poem about a hero; Example: The Odyssey.;

Eye Rhyme

Words that look like they rhyme but do not; Example: "love / move.";

Figurative Language

Language not meant literally; Example: "Time is a thief.";

Flashback

A scene that goes back to an earlier time; Example: A memory in a poem.;

Free Verse

Poetry with no regular rhyme or meter; Example: Walt Whitman poems.;

Heroic Couplet

Two rhyming lines in iambic pentameter; Example: Alexander Pope.;

Hyperbole

Extreme exaggeration; Example: "I've told you a million times.";

Iambic Pentameter

A line with 10 syllables in unstressed/stressed pattern; Example: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?";

Imagery

Language that appeals to the senses; Example: "The warm golden sun.";

Internal Rhyme

Rhyme within a line; Example: "I drove myself to the lake and dove in.";

Irony

When the opposite of what is expected happens; Example: A fire station burns down.;

Limerick

A humorous 5-line poem with AABBA rhyme scheme; Example: "There once was a man from Peru…";

Lyric Poetry

Poetry that expresses emotions or thoughts; Example: Love poems.;

Metaphor

A direct comparison; Example: "Life is a journey.";

Meter

The rhythm pattern of a poem; Example: Iambic pentameter.;

Metonymy

Replacing something with something closely related; Example: "The crown" = the king.;

Narrative Poetry

Poetry that tells a story; Example: The Odyssey.;

Ode

A poem praising something; Example: "Ode to a Grecian Urn.";

Onomatopoeia

Words that imitate sounds; Example: "buzz

Oxymoron

Two opposite words together; Example: "bittersweet.";

Paradox

A statement that seems contradictory but is true; Example: "Less is more.";

Personification

Giving human traits to non-human things; Example: "The wind whispered.";

Refrain

A repeated line or phrase in a poem; Example: A repeated chorus.;

Repetition

Repeating words for emphasis; Example: "Never

Rhyme

Similar ending sounds; Example: "star / far.";

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of rhymes in a poem; Example: ABAB.;

Rhythm

The beat or flow of a poem; Example: The poem's musical sound.;

Scansion

Analyzing a poem's meter; Example: Marking stressed and unstressed syllables.;

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as"; Example: "Brave as a lion.";

Slant Rhyme

Near rhyme

Speaker

The voice telling the poem; Example: The narrator of the poem.;

Sonnet

A 14-line poem

Stanza

A group of lines in a poem; Example: Like a paragraph in poetry.;

Synaesthesia

Mixing senses; Example: "A loud color.";

Synecdoche

A part represents the whole; Example: "All hands on deck.";

Syntax

Sentence structure; Example: Yoda-like word order.;

Tone

The author's attitude; Example: Sad

Valediction

A farewell or goodbye poem or speech; Example: Donne’s farewell poems.